Ohio driver licenses now have 'noncitizen' notations, following voter ID law
Ohio has begun placing “noncitizen” labels on the driver’s licenses and state IDs of those who lack citizenship — a move that may be the first in the nation.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles began issuing licenses to noncitizens with their status displayed below the barcode on the back, when Ohio’s new voter ID law took effect on April 7. Proponents of the the law say it will help prevent voter fraud, but critics fear the new IDs — which are just one component of the multifaceted law — will increase opportunities for everyday discrimination.
The new ID notation will only affect people who are in the country legally, like green-card holders, people with work visas, international students and refugees. The Ohio BMV’s documentation requirements already prevent undocumented people from obtaining state-issued IDs.
"Existing noncitizen DL/ID holders are not required to reapply for a new credential with the noncitizen designation. When a noncitizen credential holder renews their DL/ID the new credential will contain the noncitizen designation," Lindsey Bohrer, a spokesperson for the Ohio BMV, told The Dispatch.
More: Ohio has a new voter ID law. Here's what you need to know for the May election
The National Immigration Law Center, headquartered in Los Angeles, reports it is aware of only one other state, Idaho, that has legislated citizenship markings on driver's licenses, although it does not track legislation comprehensively, according to Jackie Vimo, the center’s senior economic justice policy analyst.
The Idaho law gives Americans the option to place a citizenship designation on their license, but does not make the notations mandatory like the “noncitizen” designations in Ohio.
Ohio immigrant leaders have expressed concern that immigrants could face discrimination in everyday situations where they are asked to present ID, even when that information is not relevant. The new IDs could divulge one’s citizenship status to strangers when buying alcohol, visiting a doctor’s office, entering events, renting a car or interacting with the police, they say.
“We’re extraordinarily concerned that lawful immigrants who are just trying to live their lives, and do what’s best for them and their families, will be targets (of) harassment, intimidation, and potentially violence,” ACLU Ohio’s Deputy Policy Director Collin Marozzi told The Dispatch in January.
Other aspects of Ohio’s new election law, passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in December, have received more attention than the “noncitizen” notations.
HB 458 requires people to present photo ID at the polls and narrows the time frame for voters to register and mail in ballots. Proponents say the law will help boost confidence in the election process, while pointing to public polls that indicate voter ID laws are popular.
More: Immigrants fear new citizenship designation on Ohio IDs will bring discrimination
Voter fraud is exceedingly rare in Ohio, affecting only 0.0005% of 2020 ballots, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office.
A Democratic law firm sued to block the law in January, casting it as an "an all-sides attack on the voting process" that will create challenges for voters, particularly the elderly, military voters and people of color. The case is being heard in federal court, but the judge has not issued any orders to prevent the law from taking effect.
Dan Tierney, spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed the bill into law on Jan. 6, told The Dispatch in January that the “noncitizen” notations are “probably one of the minor provisions in the bill that most people are probably unaware of.”
Peter Gill covers immigration and new American communities for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America here: bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
pgill@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio driver licenses now have noncitizen notations, per election law
